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Mary Bryant: Her Life and Escape from Botany Bay
Book by KING, JONATHAN
- GenresHistory
289 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2004
2 people are currently reading
41 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
September 2, 2020
4 stars
Mary Bryant came to colony of New South Wales on the First Fleet as a convict. With so many books written about her, there’s no doubt that she’s one of Australia’s most famous convict immigrants.
Despite her forced immigration, Mary had no desire to remain in a penal colony. Along with her husband Will Bryant, their two young children and seven other convicts; she successfully managed to escape the colony and make it to Timor in a small boat. However, due to a slip of the tongue; her and fellow escapes are soon found out and returned to England, where all looks lost until a last minute reprieve arrives in the form of pro bono lawyer James Boswell.
I’ve read a few different books on Mary Bryant and this was definitely one of the better ones. It wasn’t as detailed as some of the more historical texts, but didn’t take a completely fictional view where the main character is based on Bryant. It fell right in the middle and made for an interesting, yet informative read.
I liked that when the main characters spoke, their voices were written in the way of the spoken word in 18th century England and Australia. It gave a good sense of authenticity and transports the reader back in time. This, combined with the writing style, made it easy to visualise the plot and characters. This is an important factor to me and for a book set so long ago, something that isn’t necessarily easy to do.
If you have an interest in Mary Bryant but have never picked up a book on her for fear of being transported to your high school history class; then this is the book for you. It’s an interesting and informing read that will increase your knowledge of one the first immigrants to Australia.
Mary Bryant is my eighteenth read in #ktbookbingo, category ‘By or about an Immigrant.’ To play along with my book bingo and to see what else I’m reading, go to #ktbookbingo or @kt_elder on Instagram.
Mary Bryant came to colony of New South Wales on the First Fleet as a convict. With so many books written about her, there’s no doubt that she’s one of Australia’s most famous convict immigrants.
Despite her forced immigration, Mary had no desire to remain in a penal colony. Along with her husband Will Bryant, their two young children and seven other convicts; she successfully managed to escape the colony and make it to Timor in a small boat. However, due to a slip of the tongue; her and fellow escapes are soon found out and returned to England, where all looks lost until a last minute reprieve arrives in the form of pro bono lawyer James Boswell.
I’ve read a few different books on Mary Bryant and this was definitely one of the better ones. It wasn’t as detailed as some of the more historical texts, but didn’t take a completely fictional view where the main character is based on Bryant. It fell right in the middle and made for an interesting, yet informative read.
I liked that when the main characters spoke, their voices were written in the way of the spoken word in 18th century England and Australia. It gave a good sense of authenticity and transports the reader back in time. This, combined with the writing style, made it easy to visualise the plot and characters. This is an important factor to me and for a book set so long ago, something that isn’t necessarily easy to do.
If you have an interest in Mary Bryant but have never picked up a book on her for fear of being transported to your high school history class; then this is the book for you. It’s an interesting and informing read that will increase your knowledge of one the first immigrants to Australia.
Mary Bryant is my eighteenth read in #ktbookbingo, category ‘By or about an Immigrant.’ To play along with my book bingo and to see what else I’m reading, go to #ktbookbingo or @kt_elder on Instagram.
October 11, 2025
This was a well written straight forward account of a remarkable life and escape from the 1788 penal settlement at Botany Bay. The novel is factual but presented in the language of the day of England and Australia without distractions. I read it over two days and enjoyed the experience of reliving part of Australia's early beginnings.
July 18, 2024
Mary Bryant is a convict who was sent out to Australia for the crime of robbing a wealthy woman of a silk bonnet. It is an easy book to read and maybe interesting for people who are not fully aware of the history of Australia and the many people who were sent out as convicts from England.
August 31, 2025
I first discovered Mary Bryant’s story through the miniseries with Romola Garai (I’m a huge fan) and loved it so much I had to learn more. So I picked up this book. This is absolutely fascinating, a true story that reads almost like fiction, and definitely worth looking into. Highly recommend.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews